1984

In 1984 I tried to kill myself with homeopathic sleeping pills. Not quite a success, but had a good night of sleeep. I had to stop college and go to an American high school, because my father went to study in the US. Being 17, I was unable to buy beer, so eventually I tried pot. I was quite impressed. I did not have a car. I felt even more weird and detached, except for a couple other foreigners that I met. I fell in love with a girl who cut her wrists. She didn't die, and didn't want me to fuck her. So I bought LPs and watched TV. I listened to The Beatles. And Sex Pistols. And Pink Floyd. And Led Zeppelin. And Joy Division. And Cream. And Talking Heads. And Flipper. And The B-52's. And I loved it when Van Halen was on the TV.
I was home earlier one day and overheard my parents fucking in their bedroom. They were just loud enough. I was twice shocked: once for finding out they had sex, and then for being shocked at what was and is quite common for humans to do, even in some marriages.
Other great shock was when I saw the sea, after months of landlocked boredom. Florida looked like heaven, and High Times magazine looked like something from outer space.